A little sunshine was the only excuse students needed to skip class Tuesday, while teachers held class outside.
The sun diminished class sizes throughout The University of Memphis campus while students took the opportunity to sleep, sit in the sun and study outdoors.
The student mall by the fountain was littered with students enjoying the 73-degree weather. Some were studying, some were just basking in the sun’s rays and others were lying on benches like vagabonds in a city park.
“We’re just trying to enjoy it while we have it,” April Powell, a sophomore majoring in criminal justice and social work, said as she sat outside the University Center. “You never know when the rain and the clouds will come back.”
Some University professors agreed with Powell, canceling classes or holding them outdoors.
Shawn Smejkal’s photography class spent half of class in their classroom before succumbing to the sun’s temptation. The rest of class was held in the mall because it was just too nice to stay inside, a student said.
English professor Harold Terrell tries to take his classes outside when the weather is agreeable, although wet grass prevented it Tuesday.
“Going outside gives students some incentive to come to class,” he said.
Terrell has noticed his classes shrink as the weather improves. He said there is sometimes as much as a 60 percent drop in class attendance on nice days in his lower division classes.
While freshman Alexander Ealy did go to class, he has a friend who elected to skip.
“He said, ‘Forget it. It’s too nice, I’m sleeping in,’” Ealy, a biology major, said. “We’re just trying to relax.”
On the other hand, English professor Michael Compton said he did not notice much of an attendance drop in most of his classes.
“I can’t totally support that students skip when it is nice outside,” he said. “I had a lot of people in class today.”
Teri Miller went to class but elected to do her studying sitting on a bench next to the fountain in the sunshine.
“I didn’t want to go to class,” Miller, a junior art major said. “I don’t want to be inside; it’s too nice.”
Just a short walk away, an astronomy lab class gathered outside Manning Hall, thankful that clouds were not obscuring the sun. As the class measured sunspots, Drew Medlin, their instructor, burned a leaf in the enhanced sunbeam from a telescope, demonstrating the power of the sun.
